DOLBY ATMOS LANDS ON APPLE TV 4K THIS OCTOBER

7th June, 2018

In welcome news for AV enthusiasts, with the release of tvOS 12 the Apple TV 4K will be the only streaming box on the market to support both Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos.

And when you need content, iTunes has the Atmos movies.

Apple's tiny black box TV 4K has been a global sales hit since its debut last year. It's no surprise considering it's easy to use and delivers a superb Dolby Vision HDR picture. Plus it offers owners an extensive collection of 4K HDR movies available and the bonus of free 4K HDR upgrades to previously purchased movies in customer's existing iTunes libraries.

This October when Dolby Atmos lands on the 4K Apple TV, iTunes will be home to the largest collection of Dolby Atmos-supported movies anywhere. Like the free 4K HDR upgrade offer, if you already own a movie that later gets an Atmos soundtrack, your movies will get updated free of charge.

Apple did not announce whether the Netflix app, which currently supports 4K HDR and Dolby Vision, would get Atmos support as well. The odds are that it will.

There are a lot of other refinements and small updates as listed below. One key feature is that Apple TV will finally start to leverage Apple’s HomeKit technology, enabling it to integrate with home control systems from the likes of Crestron, Control4 and Savant for total system integration.

Apple’s latest OS will also enable Siri on the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch or Apple HomePod to control Crestron devices in their home; lights, blinds, thermostats and much more.

StereoNET spoke to a leading Custom Installer in Melbourne this morning and they were delighted with the news.

This level of integration is great news. We use Apple TVs in all our home installs, sometimes up to 6, one for each room. Having Atmos on board means that we can now offer sound upgrades throughout the house and fully integrate the Apple TVs to Crestron and vice versa.

Jen Folse of Apple shows new tvOS 12 aerial screensaver features on Apple TV 4K, including photographs shot from space by NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station.

For space buffs (like me) multiple new aerial screensavers feature live footage shot by NASA astronauts on the International Space Station. Users can see screensavers location information and swipe between the different screensaver sequences.

Additional tvOS 12 features

When iOS 12 is released, users will be able to securely AutoFill passwords from iPhone and iPad to Apple TV to easily sign in to Apple TV apps.

The Apple TV Remote app is automatically added to Control Center on iPhone or iPad for Apple TV users, giving users quick access to Apple TV controls without having to hunt down the dedicated handset.

Unfortunately, a long way from backward Australian shores is a new ‘zero sign-in’ feature to make app authentication about as easy as it can get. Apple TV detects the user’s broadband network and automatically signs them into all the supported apps they receive through their subscription — no typing required. Zero sign-on begins with Charter USA later this year and will expand to other providers over time. Sadly it will probably never come to Foxtel.

The matching Apple TV App on iPhone, iPad and Apple TV is the single destination to find and watch TV shows and movies from more than 100 participating video apps in 10 countries, including ABC iView, SBS On Demand, tenplay, 7plus, 9Now and more in Australia.

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Written by:

Rob Follis has been writing about tech on and off for over 40 years, is a designer, photographer, information omnivore, gadget-head, Hi-Fi afficionado, owner of far far too many things and sadly an unsuccessful app developer. A born & bred Londoner now happily living in Melbourne. Email Rob.

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